European club competition started in the 1965-1966 season with the European Cup. Firstly, it was a competition in a playoff format which was later replaced into group stages.

From the 1996-1997 season the European Cup was replaced by the European Hockey League (EHL). It began with a group stage followed by a head-to-head knockout and a final tournament. The EHL was not played anymore after 2000.

Parallely with the introduction of the EHL, the Continental Cup was created for those teams which were not qualified to play in the EHL. It is composed of four group stages and has competitors of dozens of nations.

The European Champions Cup (ECC) was introduced for the 2004-2005 seasons as the successor of the EHL. The champions of the best six European federations, according to the IIHF World Ranking, are divided into two groups. The group winners play the final game.

The Champions Hockey League (CHL) replaces the ECC from the 2008-2009 season. The champions of the top-6 nations and six qualifiers play the main stage of the competition (4 groups of 3 teams each). The qualifiers will be determined by two qualifying stages containing the runner-ups of the top-6 nations and the champions of the 18 following nations. Afterwards, the semi-final and final will be played in head-to-head games at the participators' home venues.

The Victoria Cup starts from 2008-2009. Clubs from Europe, determinded by the ECC and CHL respectively, and the National Hockey League will compete for the trophy. More information is to follow.

The European Women's Champions Cup (EWCC) was introduced in the 2004-2005 season as the main competition for winners of the national championships accross Europe. It is played in three group stages.